I am a father, and for the first time in my life, I feel how profound that title is when my son is in danger. To add to that, my true mate's panic sets me off, and I can't stand to see her troubled.
Ourson has been abducted. I turn to my friends, that strong sense of protectiveness coming over me and fueling the alpha within me.
“I need to find my son,” I declare boldly, fiercely, my fists curling at my sides.
Dominic and Nicholas both nod firmly, and there's an unspoken command that sets us in motion as we race down the porch, and I grab Arianna's arm, pulling her toward the woods.
“I'd tell you to stay back and let me handle this, but I know you won't listen to me.” My nostrils flare with residual anger as I say this. “We'll need to follow his scent.”
Arianna nods fervently, already preparing to shift into wolf form the second we near the ingress of the woods. Noah's faint scent lingers in the air, and I shift to fill my wolf lungs with the breadcrumb trail. My friends do the same, and before long, we're racing through the forest with Arianna keeping up beside me as we follow Noah's scent toward a neighboring human town.
“Over there!”Arianna yells through the mind link, stopping on a hill, her sharp nose pointed toward a dilapidated industrial building positioned on the outskirts of Falmouth. “That's where he took Noah. I can feel him.”
I turn to my friends and nod once, having a brief flashback of one of our black ops missions, when we infiltrated a building similar to this one up north. A group of mutated rogues was plotting to overthrow a werewolf pack and conquer their land, but we intercepted their plans, driving some away and killing a few.
As adrenaline pumps through me, I suspect that this is no coincidence, and my intuition leads me to throw my head up and howl to draw out the rogue wolves from inside.
My suspicions are confirmed when a handful of mutated rogues emerge from all corners of the building, charging toward us on the hill overlooking the building. Their gut-churning smells are strong, burning my airways as I turn to Arianna.
“I'm going inside. Noah must be there,”I tell her telepathically.
“I'm coming with you!”she yelps as she follows me down.
“No! Stay with Dom and Nick! They're gonna keep you safe!”
“No!”Arianna shakes her head. “That's mysonin there! I have to save him!”she growls, and I can't help but admire her determination.
My wolf heart flutters with the recognition that this she-wolf is my true mate, my fated mate, and I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. Sure, she's not a high-ranking wolf, but she's brave, strong, a willing fighter who loves fiercely.
I was so wrong about her, and I see it now.
When she said I was her mate, it must have broken her when I rejected her, and turned her into something she's not. But in the face of danger, she becomes her true self.
A she-wolf determined to fight alongside her alpha, like any luna would be.
I only respond with a nod when my friends charge for the rogues, keeping them busy with attacks so Arianna and I can sneak off to the side and race toward the warehouse.
As we come to the large steel doors, I charge forward, crashing through the lock and sending one door clattering to the ground.
Noah is locked in a cage no bigger than him, wearing a frightened expression, eyes glazed with tears, and cheeks crusted with the ones he'd shed. A dark-haired man stands beside the metal cage and smirks sadistically, lifting dark, hellish pits at me.
I instantly shift into human form, my heart pounding with fear and desperation to save my son.
“Please! Let Noah go!”
The man, I assume, is James, who throws his head back and roars with dark laughter. “Let Noah go?! And why should I do that?” He stalks forward slowly, narrowing his eyes at Arianna. “Though I'll be willing to make a fair trade for yourmate.”
He says the word with bitterness, and Arianna shifts into human form.
“What do you want from us, James? Why are you doing this?!” she demands, and James pulls out a pocket knife, metal slicing the air when he flips it.
“Have you ever heard of the saying…an eye for an eye?” He raises a brow as he stares at me. “You took my mate's life, so it's only fair that I take hers…” He points the tip of his knife at Arianna, and I immediately step in front of her.
“So, you're from the group of disgusting mutts we dealt with a couple of years ago,” I scoff. “It won't be a problem killing you, like we did with the others.”
James chuckles. “If I remember correctly, you were very close to dying, my friend.”
“I'm not your friend,mutt,” I growl, keeping Arianna behind me with a protective arm as James comes closer. “And if you're still alive, it means you ran away when we fought your friends. You're a coward.”
